This page: Any owner will want to do the
best for their FIV cat, how should they look after their cat? We
give our experience of caring for over 100 FIV cats.

How do you care for an FIV cat?

We are often
asked by those who take on, or discover they have an FIV cat, what
they should do in terms of looking after their FIV cat. This usually
means, what they should do that is different or extra to what they
would do for any other cat.

Firstly we need to remind you that every cat is different; and every
FIV cat is also different - it often seems from what one reads that
having FIV makes a cat the same as every other cat with FIV, whereas,
common sense shows that there are just as many individually different
FIV cats as there are any other cat. So there are no common answers to
anything, everything needs to take into account the individual animal,
FIV or not.

So how do you look
after an FIV cat?
Just the same as you look after any other cat really, but just being
aware of the virus and what effect it may or may not have.

Basically your cat needs good food, a stress-free environment and
attention if any health issues should appear. Just like looking after
any cat!

Food
A good mixed diet is important for the health of any cat, and FIV cats
are just the same. Best avoid a limited diet of one type or brand of
food; give good quality, with some variety is the basic advice. This
will help keep any cat in the best of health which, in turn will
maintain the immune system at its strongest.
We emphasise a variety so there is no danger of too much or too little
of any one ingredient (minerals, vitamins etc) every cat has a
slightly different need, so the variety will ensure a balance for any
cat.

Remember, as every cat is different, they may need a slightly
different diet, that will depend on their age, weight and any other
issues they may have, so you need to get advice as to the most
appropriate diet for your individual cat to take those differences
into account - ask a good vet about appropriate dietary requirements -
not for the FIV, but for everything else individual about your cat.

Environment
The environment in which a cat lives has a strong influence on its
wellbeing. A stressful environment will put strain on all systems,
including the immune system, so be aware of how your cat reacts to the
environment - does the cat hide when visitors come? Is he/she always
trying to get outside? Be aware of anything that seems to cause
stress, and see if you can reduce that element.

If you can give your cat access to fresh air, we believe that is very
beneficial. Any cat who lives in a closed environment will be exposed
to all manner of pollutants in the air. Unless there is good
ventilation, there will be a build up of all chemicals from air
fresheners. cleaners etc as well as re-breathing all that is breathed
out - so any bacteria breathed out, will likely be taken in again,
wheres with good ventilation and fresh air, these pollutants will be
removed before they are taken back into the lungs.

There must be
something different we should do?
You need to understand what the virus is actually doing (see
our page on this). Basically, the virus is very slowly reducing
some of the immune cells that help the cat fight infection, so you
need to reduce anything that might aggravate that process, and
possibly see if there is anything more that might actually slow the
process down even more.

The things to avoid as far as possible which might aggravate the
damage the virus is doing are, avoid extra stress, avoid as far as
possible infections, both of which can increase the speed of the virus
replicating and thus damaging more immune cells. But bear in mind that
in most cases the cat will have many years while the virus is present
before it has sufficient influence to actually affect the cat's
health. So no need to panic!

Simply be aware of what might cause stress, and keep the cat in an
environment which minimises any infection risks.

Check out your vet's
attitude to FIV
One thing that could be very important is to interview your vet! Find
out his/her views on FIV and, more importantly, his/her experience of
treating FIV cats. It is a sad fact that there are still many vets out
there who have a poor understanding of the virus and will tend to put
any problem the cat faces down to the FIV, whereas in reality the
virus will usually be no more than an extra aggravation. So make sure
your vet is happy to work with you should there be any health issues
to deal with.